How to improve the energy performance of your home?

How to save money without losing comfort? How to improve the energy performance of your home? Amine Meslem, chef from section to 60 Million consumers is the guest of franceinfo consumer to evoke the outsideOctober series of the magazine, dedicated to energy renovation.

franceinfo: Is renovating and adapting your home the only way to make significant savings? How much can we divide the bill by?

Amine Meslem: If you commit to a complete renovation, rather than doing small jobs piecemeal, it is possible to make serious savings. We have examples of households who have managed to divide their heating bill by 5 or 6. And for this you have to deal with 6 main renovation items: insulation of the roof, walls, floors, install double-flow ventilation, install double-glazed windows, and replace your heating system with more efficient equipment.

So the first thing you recommend before starting is to prepare your project well before starting?

There is no need to rush. You can first identify the weak points in your home, thanks to an energy performance diagnosis (DPE), or better, an energy audit which provides quantified and detailed proposals for the work to be undertaken.

You must also contact France Rénov’, the public home renovation service. Its advisors will help you, free of charge and completely independently, to better define your project. They will guide you on the work to consider based on your needs, the characteristics of the accommodation and your means. The advisors will help you estimate the necessary budget by evaluating the aid for which you are eligible.

And what aid can we claim?

The main one is MaPrimeRénov’ which is granted by the National Housing Agency (Anah), depending on the applicants’ income. Then there are energy saving certificates: aid which is delivered by energy sellers, in the form of payments, purchase vouchers, or deducted directly from work invoices. All households are eligible, regardless of their resource levels. There is also aid allocated by local authorities. It is also possible to benefit from zero-interest loans.

But can you turn to a professional to assess the energy performance of your home?

Yes, you can call on a diagnostician to carry out a DPE or an energy audit, at your own expense. Good to know, people who are embarking on a complete renovation of their home can benefit from the public system Mon Accompagnateur Rénov’, which is currently being deployed.

The support person is involved at all stages, from project design to acceptance of the work. In particular, it is responsible for carrying out an energy audit. This service is fully covered for households with very modest incomes, and partially for others.

Can we really trust the DPE, the energy performance diagnosis?

Yes, if it was made recently. Because the DPE was reformed in July 2021, to improve its reliability and readability. But for it to properly reflect the energy performance of the home, it is necessary to prepare for the inspector’s visit, in particular by providing him with invoices for the work, which may have been carried out, becausehe cannot see them visually, he will not be able to take them into account.

If your home is classified F or G, you have every interest in renovating it. If it is classified D or E, heavy work is not necessarily immediately essential. Instead, carry out one or two jobs (attic insulation, installation of double glazing, etc.).

And are there any steps to take before launching a project, any authorizations to obtain?

Insulating your interior walls or replacing your boiler are interventions that do not involve any action at the Town Hall. On the other hand, major works which impact the facades, as is the case during thermal insulation by exterior walls, require a prior declaration of work. It may be refused if the exterior appearance of the building is likely to differ significantly from what is seen around it.

Importantly, who is affected by these procedures, the tenant, the owner, both?

Only the owner can initiate this type of procedure. A tenant who wishes to improve the thermal comfort of their accommodation must make a request to their landlord. If he refuses, you can undertake work at your expense, provided you have notified him by registered letter. Without a response from him within two months of receipt, your landlord will be assumed to have accepted, and will not be able to demand that you return the premises to their original state when the lease is terminated.

And there is a difference between a detached house and an apartment?

Yes, in a detached house, you have great freedom to act, as long as you respect town planning rules. However, things get complicated in an apartment, because if the planned work concerns the common areas (external insulation, connection of a VMC to a common conduit, etc.) you will have to obtain the agreement of the other co-owners, for the realize.

In your special issue, you give a whole list of preconceived ideas to combat, in particular the fact that you should not buy and install your new equipment alone, because you will not be able to benefit from aid?

You should not make any purchases and installations on your own, as you then lose the possibility of benefiting from renovation aid. Quotes must be drawn up from at least three RGE-certified professionals. Without this label, no help possible.

You should then present the quotes to your France Rénov’ advisor, to check that the services meet the required criteria. It is only after having submitted the aid requests, and received confirmation from the organizations which deliver them, that you will be able to sign the quotes and launch the projects.

Today, green housing is the big winner in the real estate sector? Is it a guarantee to rent or to sell a product well?

The price gap between housing with good thermal performance and energy-intensive housing is widening. According to figures from notaries, old houses classified F or G sold for -6 to -19% less than those in category D. On the other hand, economical houses classified A or B benefited from a higher price. -value of +6 to +14% compared to properties in D.

Last thing, regulated gas and electricity prices have increased, should we expect further increases?

This is very likely, because the government intends to exit, by the end of 2024, the tariff shield put in place to prevent more brutal increases.